Wednesday, September 16, 2015

"These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Both the foundation and the fabric of a strong nation is strong families. It is common sense and it is strongly supported by Scriptures such as the classic passage above. So, no wonder we are devoting five weeks to studying how strong families are built.

As mentioned in a previous post, God shared the same vision for His new nation that we have for FredWes. He called and commanded the Hebrew parents to raise up their children to be even more passionate and committed to serving God than they were themselves.

You may be thinking, "That is certainly worthy goal and I embrace it, but how can I pull that off?"

This passage offers helpful insights toward reaching that goal.

It will require an intentional effort with the use of your time.

Here are some practical truths regarding the use of time:

Time is the one thing everyone has the same amount of

Time is what life is made of so it has great value

The use of time reflects what is actually most important to you

Time manages those who won't manage it

Those who manage time the best have the most productive lives

Raising Home Run Kids will demand a time substantial commitment of time on what God requires of parents in the commands given in Deuteronomy 6.

Here are a few things to think about:

Did you get enough time with your parents?

Do you wish you could have more time with them?

So, time translates into memories.

Have you made all the memories with your kids that you want to make?

With kids, time spent with them is indicative of how much you love them.

Where will you find the additional time you need to spend with your kids?

I challenge you to take the time to prayerfully consider these bullet points.